Kimpton Hotel Group - a Great Company

Fortune Magazine recently released its annual list of 100 Best Companies To Work For.  Once again, there was only one hotel company among the Top 30:  Kimpton, a hospitality company known for its "boutique" style hotels.

I'm not surprised. Every time I work at one of Kimpton's DC area hotels, I am delighted not just by the professionalism but also by the friendliness of their staffs.  I frequently observe how extra courteous and helpful they are to wedding guests, and I can attest first-hand to how cooperative they are with outside vendors like myself.  It's always occurred to me that Kimpton management must be doing something right, and that the people who work there seem to truly enjoy their work.

The Kimpton Hotels I've worked in include the Hotel Monaco-DC, the Hotel Monaco-Alexandria, the Hotel Palomar (DC), Morrison House (Alexandria) and Lorien Hotel (Alexandria). I highly recommend them to wedding couples!

FIRST DANCES from my 2012 WEDDINGS

Tallying up the First Dance choices of my 2012 wedding couples, old stalwarts Frank, Frankie, and Van the Man led the list.  Frank as in Sinatra – one couple chose his ever-popular “The Way You Look Tonight,” another his lesser-known “Day By Day.”  Frankie Valli’s “Can’t Take Your Eyes Off Of You” was three couple’s First Dance, although one of the three used the Broadway version from “Jersey Boys.”  Van Morrison got the honors with “Into the Mystic,” “Someone Like You” and “Crazy Love,” and yet a fourth  couple went with Michael Buble’s rendition of the latter.

Another popular choice was The Cure’s “Lovesong” as covered by 311 and Adele.  Among contemporary artists, only Ray LaMontagne was picked more than once – both times his “You Are the Best Thing.” 

Other First Dance choices included songs by current artists Norah Jones, Jack Johnson, Ingrid Michaelson, Train, Alicia Keys and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.  A few couples dug into the soul oldies vaults for First Dances by the likes of Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett.  One choose Etta James’ classic “At Last.”  Country music-loving clients  danced to Anne Murray’s “Can I Have This Dance” (one to her recording, another to a karaoke version sung by a cousin of the bride), Rascal Flatts, Keith Urban, and Sammy Kershaw.

Here's the complete list:

“A Thousand Years” Christina Perri

“At Last” Etta James

“Bring It On Home” Little Big Town

“Can I Have This Dance” Anne Murray

“Can I Have This Dance”  (karaoke version, sung by bride’s cousin)

“Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” Frankie Valli 

“Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” John Lloyd Young (from Broadway’s “Jersey Boys”)

“Come Away With Me” Norah Jones

“Crazy Love” Van Morrison

“Crazy Love” Michael Buble

“Day By Day” Frank Sinatra

“Do You Remember” Jack Johnson

“Even If I Wanted To” Daisy Dern & Dave Gibson

“Harvest Moon” Neil Young

“Here” Rascal Flatts

“Hey Mama” Mat Kearney

"Hysterics” (acoustic version) Yeah Yeah Yeahs

“I Only Have Eyes for You” Flamingos

“I Want to Be Your Man” Roger & Zapp

“I’ll Let Nothing Separate Us” Otis Redding
“If I Ain’t Got You” Alicia Keys

“If I Give My Heart To You” Doris Day

“Indefinite Leave to Remain” Pet Shop Boys

“Into the Mystic” Van Morrison

“Love of My Life” Sammy Kershaw

“Love Song” 311

“Love Song” Adele

“Making Memories of Us” Keith Urban

“Marry Me” (acoustic version) Train

“Maybe I’m Amazed” Paul McCartney & Wings

“One True” Mishka

“Someone Like You” Van Morrison

“Stand by Me” Phillip Phillips

“Stick With Me Baby” Robert Plant & Alison Krauss

“The Way I Am” Ingrid Michaelson

“The Way You Look Tonight” Frank Sinatra

“Three Little Birds” Bob Marley

“True Companion” Marc Cohn

“You Are The Best Thing” Ray LaMontagne

“You Are The Best Thing” Ray LaMontagne

 “You’re So Fine” Wilson Pickett

Wedding Wire "Bride's Choice" Award

Good Note DJs is proud to again be the recipient of a WeddingWire Bride's Choice Award™ , bestowed upon the top five percent of wedding professionals within the WeddingWire Network who demonstrate excellence in quality, service, responsiveness and professionalism.

New Venues (for Me) from the Past Year

With many years of DJ'ing under my belt, most of the weddings I perform at are at venues I've worked at before. But each year, I work at a few new ones -- new to me, that is.  Here are the venues I worked at for the first time in the past year, 2012:

• 1840s Ballroom, Baltimore MD 
• Eastern Market (North Hall) , Washington DC
• Trummers on Main, Clifton VA
• Lorien Hotel, Alexandria VA
• Rock Creek Mansion, Bethesda MD
• The Belvedere, Baltimore MD

If you're considering holding your event at any of the over 200 venues I've performed at, I'd be happy to share my insights about them.  Just send me an email and I'll be happy to respond (please include your phone #). 

Most Requested: the DJ Intelligence "Top 200" Songs

DJ Intelligence generates a list of the 200 songs most requested by mobile DJ clients over the past 12 months. The 2012 winners are now posted at Mobile Beat’s website.

Of course, just because a song is popular doesn't mean YOU have hear it at YOUR wedding. In fact, some of my clients go through a list like this to ferret out songs for their "Do Not Play" list! Still, for most events, the DJ Intelligence Top 200 are sure-fire dance floor fillers. And ultimately, at the end of your reception, you'll be happiest if your guests were having a great time dancing.

For more information on DJ Intelligence, see www.DJIntelligence.com.

Good Note DJs - WeddingWire Bride's Choice Award for the 4th year in a row

My "expert picks" for Washingtonian blog posting on wedding songs

Check out Good Note DJ's current article in Washingtonian Magazine's wedding blog. They asked me to pick out one or two of my favorites for each category of wedding music. (When working with clients of course I have long lists for each category for the wedding couple to choose from) .

Why I Still Use CDs

An article in the May 10 NY Times, "In Mobile Age, Sound Quality Takes a Step Back," reminds me of the reason why I still primarily play music from CDs rather than from mp3s.

The article notes that the music stored on computers and iPods is compressed. The amount of data in the original recording is reduced so as to speed up download times and to allow more songs to be stored on the device. Compression "shrinks the size of the files, eliminating some of the sounds and range contained on a CD."

(For example, a typical 4 minute song on a CD requires 40 MB of data. However, an mp3 file of that same song can be less than 4 MB -- containing less than one-tenth of the audio data on the CD. Even a higher quality mp3 of that same song is only about 6 or 7 MB -- still only about one-sixth of the audio data on the CD.)

As the NY Times reports, "compressed music files produce a crackly, tinnier, and thinner sound than music on CDs."

The reason most listeners don't notice the difference is that today's generation most often listens to music through a pair of iPod earbuds or through their computer speakers. These are adequate for that purpose. It's a trade-off between quality on the one hand and portability and convenience on the other.

But play that same compressed mp3 file through a $5,000 professional sound system like I use and, believe me, you CAN hear the difference between that and the original CD!

Not Too Heavy, Not Too Light

Do you recall that recent Bud Light TV commercial titled “The Arrival”?

A guy arrives at a backyard party, waves to no one in particular, and meekly says “hi everybody.” Nobody even notices. “TOO LIGHT,” proclaims the ad. Then the same guy is shown crashing through the back fence in a fire-spewing monster truck. “TOO HEAVY,” for sure. In contrast, we’re told, the beer that’s right for you is “not too heavy, not too light.”

The same standard – neither too heavy nor too light – applies to the DJ who serves as Master of Ceremonies (MC)at a wedding reception.

You don’t want your DJ/MC to come across like a melodramatic ringmaster at a Barnum & Bailey Circus, a cheesy TV game show host, wild and crazy “Morning Zoo” radio jock, or a World Wrestling Foundation announcer. TOO HEAVY.

But neither do you want an DJ/MC who’s a wallflower, inarticulate, soft-spoken, unable to command attention, more comfortable buried in his headphones and staring at his mixer than addressing an audience on the microphone. TOO LIGHT.

What you want and need for a wedding reception is a DJ/MC who knows how to talk on the microphone but also knows when not to; who sounds like a classy, articulate professional; who comes across with just enough (but not too much) positive energy; and who can get your guests’ attention when needed to make announcements but without grabbing the spotlight for himself.

Why Hire a Videographer

If your wedding budget permits, I recommend you hire a professional videographer in addition to a photographer.

Photos are wonderful, but only a video can capture the sounds as well as sights of your wedding day. Your wedding vows as you speak them. The toasts by your friends and family. The grand entrance introductions. The music played as you dance your first dance. 

Don’t just think of how you'll feel when you watch your wedding video in a year or two. Think of how you'll feel when you watch it 25 years from now. And how your children will feel, and even your grandchildren.  Looking at photographs stirs memories, but watching film footage makes the figures in those photos come alive. It's a whole different level of experience.

Sure, you have an uncle with a $300 Canon camcorder who’ll loves to shoot family gatherings. But will he guarantee he’ll get all the special moments? Will he capture good quality sound? Will he be on the job constantly, ready to capture those little details and spontaneous moments that tell the story? Will he edit the raw footage into a truly watchable, emotionally compelling, film? No; probably not; uh-huh; and not-so-much.